The work is the story told by Ellen Dean, the housekeeper, to her employer’s lodger—an account she has witnessed throughout her life. The story unfolds on the unwelcoming Yorkshire moors; its heroes are the residents of two neighboring estates—Mize of the Rookfields and the Stormy Hollow. And the events described begin with a seemingly kind and harmless act: the owner of one of the estates saved and sheltered a small homeless boy. If only he had known what a furious chain of events this would set in motion…